There is a perspective I see sometimes where some people have elevated environmentalism so high in their value system relative to all else that they end up in a moral position where consuming any resources at all which all living things do is somehow morally unconscionable.
My comment sounds like a joke, but it's not far off: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_Human_Extinction_Mov...
Reasonable environmentalists think humans have as much right to exist and seek joy as any other living being as long as it's done in a sustainable way. We just want people to, you know, maybe walk to work instead of driving sometimes. Don't litter. Push your government to pass laws against pollution.
There are lobbyists and well-funded organizations pushing against any progress on the environment and the existence of extreme views like "you're a horrible person if you —checks notes—have a fucking dog" makes it too easy for those groups to paint all environmentalists as out of touch kooks. That's the last thing we need.
The parent comment described pet ownership as "is among the biggest environmental stupidity I can think of". Call me crazy, but a couple of meaty snacks for Fido is pretty far down the list after, I don't know, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, coral bleaching, acid rain, deforestation, fuel oil, fracking, chemical dumping, nuclear weapons, water table draining, etc.
There is a right to exist, but not a right to be created. Saying someone should kill themselves and kill some other along the way, is just not acceptable in a normal discussion.
> Call me crazy, but a couple of meaty snacks for Fido is pretty far down the list after
Those meaty snacks make 20% of worldwide meat-consumption. As a country, pets would be the 60th biggest CO2-emitter in the world. Just because there are bigger culprits, doesn't mean that the smaller ones are excused. Moving pets to more friendly foods would have a huge impact on the world.
But the top-level post is advocating adopting shelter animals and the reply was that keeping pets is bad for the environment. Those shelter animals already exist and if they aren't adopted, they will likely be killed. It's the same thing modulo different species.
But making everything hyper-efficient and reducing on EVERYTHING we almost possibly do just takes away our basic freedoms. I'm not saying you're wrong about not having dogs. I have one myself but yeah, you're right. It's like having a child. But I like being able to choose having it or not.
The meats that dogs and cats eat are essentially the waste products from meat production aimed at human consumption. You can certainly find some exceptions (especially on Instragram), but the vast, vast majority of people, even those feeding raw diets to their pets, use either meat not meant for human consumption or offal that most Americans don't consume.
Nah. Have you ever bonded with a dog? Nah. I'll take dogs over people any day.
I'm all for closing puppy mills/farms, neutering etc but I draw the line at "don't rescue a dog that already exists"
Even premium dog kibble is made out of the lowest quality junk meat left over from what people eat. I too am a vegetarian (and I don't have kids, and have never owned a car and gave up flying years ago). But I do not begrudge my two hounds their bag of kibble. I'm fact I'd be willing to bet that my household CO² footprint is lower than yours, even with my two greyhounds.
That is the wildest exaggeration I can think of.
I’m also vegetarian, though I am because I’d rather not kill things when I don’t need to. The environmental benefit is an appreciable side effect, and confirms to me I’ve made the right choice for myself. I like to try to share my views with as many people as I can, but I think expecting everyone to ‘just get it’ is setting yourself up for failure, and ultimately unhelpful in the long run.
If people giving their cats cat food is enough to make you question your commitment to vegetarianism, maybe you're not really that committed? You should do things for yourself, and base their value on the decisions of others